An action-packed 30-second trailer for Season 2 of "Star Trek: Discovery" features explosions, familiar cast members and newcomers, including Captain Pike — and Spock, sporting a wry smile.

And to keep us from going completely mad until then, the third and penultimate "Star Trek: Short Trek" airs Thursday (Dec. 6) on CBS All Access, and there's a new trailer for that, too.

Each short runs approximately 10 to 15 minutes and offers an opportunity for fans to dive deeper into key themes and characters from "Discovery" and the expanding "Star Trek" universe. [In Photos: 'Star Trek: Discovery' Premiere Hits Hollywood at Warp Speed]

Last month, we were introduced to an intriguing character called Craft, played by Aldis Hodge, in the episode "Calypso." This month the focus is on Saru, played by Doug Jones, and for the very first time we get to see a glimpse of the Kelpien home world.

In this episode, called "The Brightest Star," we follow Saru before he joined Starfleet, when he lived on his home planet, Kaminar.

Speaking at New York Comic Con in October, Jones said, "In the short, we go back and discover how he grew up and his curiosity and how it got him off the planet. He's the only one of his kind who's ever been off that planet. He's the one who joined Starfleet and the first to go and become an officer.

"So, you find out in the short how much fear I had to deal with in my real world and how it became part of our daily routine. Here, [fear] was just an inherent thing that we had to live with. Even though it looks euphoric and vacation-like, there's something dastardly going on with [the Kelpians'] predator species. So, we get to know more about all that through the short, and in Season 2, there's some tie-in.

"You get to meet my sister, the lovely Sarana, played by the beautiful Hannah Spear. You'll see more family and what my home planet of Kaminar looks like," Jones said.

"Short Treks" is being shown in the U.S. on CBS All Access. In Canada, the episodes are available on the channel Space, the streaming service CraveTV and the Snackable TV app. Sadly, fans in the U.K. will miss out as there are no plans for Netflix to show the episodes there as yet.

The first season of "Star Trek: Discovery" is available to stream in its entirety on CBS All Access in the U.S. and on Netflix in the U.K. The "Star Trek: Discovery" Season 1 on Blu-ray and DVD can be ordered now, making them the perfect gifts to ask Santa for.

The second season of "Star Trek: Discovery" will comprise of 13 episodes with no midseason break. It will premiere on Jan. 17, 2019, in the U.S. and Canada, and in the rest of the world on , Jan. 18, 2019.

Follow Scott Snowden on Twitter. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. Original article on Space.com.